What is the Gospel?

The Gospel of Jesus Christ is 2 parts, there’s Bad News and then there is Good News.

Here is the Bad News…

When God created the first humans Adam and Eve they were made perfect and had communion with God. They had the ability to speak with God face to face.  God gave man one command to follow: And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, “Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat; but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.” Genesis 2:16-17

We know that Adam and Eve did not physically die because they were sent out of the garden of Eden.  So what was God referring to?  Well, there are 3 types of death.

Physical death: Our physical bodies die as one aspect of God’s judgment on sin (our disobedience). Thus we are separated from this world and all that is in it. This death is understood by all of us.

Spiritual death: This death is not easily understood. God created people not only as physical beings but we are also spirit being so that we would be able to relate to Him, because He is not a physical being but a spirit being. God told Adam and Eve, our first parents, that they would die if they disobeyed Him. When they sinned, God immediately rendered their spiritual senses inoperative. They were cut off from God and His life and thus were spiritually dead. This death has been passed down to all of us so that we were born with spirit sensors which did not work. We were not in a right relationship with God when we came into this world.

Eternal death: This death takes place after our physical death if we do not die in a right relationship with God and spiritually connected to Him.   When we die physically we enter into an eternal death and there will be nothing good from the hand of God forever and ever. There is no hope for us once we have entered into eternal death.

From this we learn that sin seperates us from God.  What is sin?  Simply put, it is anything short of perfection.  None of us are perfect.  We all fall short in some form or another.  We say bad things, we do bad things, we think bad thoughts.  Some of us commit these sins to a greater degree than others but the bottom line is God cannot accept us with even one sin.  Think about what you did or said or thought yesterday and this will give you an idea of your condition.  That makes every single human being a sinner.  God cannot accept us into His presence with our sin.  He has to judge us for our sins.  Someone has to pay for that.

Here is the Good News…

God came in the form of a man which was born of the virgin Mary and conceived by His Holy Spirit making him 100% human and 100% diety.  His name is Jesus Christ.

Jesus Christ lived a perfect, sinless life so that He could die on the cross for our sins.  He paid the price for us.  He became our subsitute.  God took all of your sins from your past, present and future and punished Jesus for them in your place.

This is the greatest love story every told. He did for you what you couldn’t do for yourself so that you could be spritually connect to God.  When Jesus died He rose again on the 3rd day.  This is a sign that He paid for all of your sins.  If He did not pay for your sins in full he would not be resurrected.  He is now seated at the right hand of God the Father.

Why did He have to come as a man?  Romans 5:17-19 For if, by the trespass of the one man (Adam), death reigned through that one man, how much more will those who receive God’s abundant provision of grace and of the gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man, Jesus Christ. Consequently, just as the result of one trespass was condemnation for all men, so also the result of one act of righteousness was justification that brings life for all men. For just as through the disobedience of the one man the many were made sinners, so also through the obedience of the one man the many will be made righteous.”

For those who believe and receive what has already been done for us by Jesus Christ, God sends His Holy Spirit to live on the inside of us to regenerate and renew us.  The Holy Spirit is the third person of the trinity (Triune God).  With the Holy Spirit we are now in perfect communion God and we are now spiritually alive.  When we die the physical death we are now eternally connected to God and have eternal life instead of eternal death.

Here is a summary of the Gospel:

  • We do not and cannot measure up to God’s standard of perfection.
  • God is just and must punish us for our sins. The punishment is eternal separation from Him.
  • Jesus Christ is God who became man, went to the cross and solved our problem of sin by being punished as our substitute. He came back from the dead. God is now able to offer you the gift of eternal life. You now have access to God and Communion with Him.

If you would like to receive Jesus Christ all you need to do is pray this simple prayer.“Lord Jesus, I want to become a follower of Yours. I come to You acknowledging that I am a sinner. I know that I cannot make myself acceptable to God through my own efforts. I believe You went to the cross to be judged in my place. I trust You to save me from the judgment I deserve. I trust You to give me a new life. I believe that you are the only one who can give me eternal life and true communion with God. Give me the free gift of Your Holy Spirit so that I may live a life that honors you. Thank you, Lord Jesus, for your love. Give me the strength and wisdom I need to learn Your ways so that I might follow You as my Lord. Amen.”

If you prayed this prayer you are on your way to a new life.  Find a church in your area that teaches the bible. You can use our statement of faith as a guide to finding the right church.

You need to get discipled.  In order for you to walk out your life as a Christian successfully you need to learn a few things like how to pray, how to meditate, what versions of the bible are easiest for you to read as a new Christian, how to find out what your spiritual giftings are and also find your purpose in life.  You will know all of this when you are being discipled.  You can sign up for a free discipleship school at https://GlorytoGlorySchool.com

God Bless You and welcome to the Family.